14 DAY TRIAL // Gaming headphones usually have large ear cups of some sort, but not of any unusual shape, instead sticking to circles or ovals. The ASUS Strix Pro strays from that so-called standard by adopting hexagonal ear cushions.
ASUS has decided to truly let loose with the advancing technology, having released not only a new headphone set bearing the Strix brand, but also a video card.
The ASUS Strix GTX 780 graphics board is one we've already looked at, and praised for its ability to stay totally off, even the cooler, when idle.
The Strix Pro headphone set has its own perks. It can't really stay silent, since producing sound is what it's for, but it can block noise out just fine.
Also, it has hexagonal cushions, as we said before, which is pretty much a first for this market. And it's not just the shape that stands out either.
The flexible ear cups can be laid flat, so to speak, and the design on their outer shells makes them look like big, soulful eyes. Well, maybe not soulful, but obviously eyes.
According to ASUS, the Strix Pro will work with any PCs, Macs, PlayStation 4 consoles and many smartphones and tablets.
Hopefully that's true, since it wouldn't be the first time a set of headphones makes odd buzzing or ticking noises when connected to a phone.
Anyway, the 60mm Neodymium magnet drivers produce sound with an impedance of 32 ohms, a frequency response of 20 to 20,000 Hz, and sensitivity of 98dB SPL.
You get different connectors as well, like 3-pole 3.5mm connectors + USB for audio boxes (PC/Mac), and 4-pole 3.5mm combined audio connector for mobile devices. There's even a unique 5-pole 3.5mm connector in the headset itself.
Furthermore, the USB-powered control box, with its built-in microphone, enables highly effective environmental-noise-cancellation (ENC) technology.
Because, really, we couldn't have a high-end, top-tier really, set of audio headphones without active noise cancellation. The passive type wouldn't have cut it, since it doesn't really cancel outside sound, only blocks some of it.
Unfortunately, though ASUS was quite giving with its information in the press release, it didn't provide the price of the Strix Pro multi-platform gaming headset. Ironically, it probably doesn't matter, as the people likely to purchase it are the ones unlikely to care about spending a fortune on a single item. High-end gaming hardware always sells for a lot of cash, so only the rich bother ordering it.
